Career changes Iv'e done: Army, 4 years,
Radiologic (X-ray) Technologist, 7 years
Truck driving, 7 years
Back to X-ray and CT which is what I have been doing for the last 10 years.

Went back for a Bachelor's in my field and have considered going on for masters and getting into teaching at the college level but have to pay off some loans first. Plus as was posted before it would be a cut in pay at least for the first few years.

It does get more difficult the longer you have in a trade of profession to start over. Almost across the board the you wind up taking a pay cut initially, not even to mention the impact of the recession on jobs currently. If one was interested in the medical field and could invest in two years at a community college, I would suggest Nursing RN. It is one of the few jobs where you can start off making pretty decent pay. Both my wife and daughter have done well in only a few years. And there are jobs out there.

Rn sounds plausible. I was thinking of taking some business courses. Looks like I'll do one more season in hvac, save up some money and start over next year. I'll figure out what to do with myself in the meantime.

Why give up the HVAC completely? I have installed floor covering since 1973. But there have been times that it was part time while I tried other things. I welded in a factory for 4 years. Sold flooring for a big box. Ran a flooring store. Built hand made furniture. Bought, fixed up and resold cars. Always installing floorcovering when I wasn't busy. Finally went back to it full time. Keep your hand in HVAC. I moved back to my home town 20 years ago just to get into a different market.

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Semi-Retired Installer
Installing since 1973

ten years ago a heating co. came to my house to repair a bryant furnace .am going to be generous and say 45 min. to replace a hot surface igniter.then he bends me over for 460.bucks. i have replaced it myself since then for the price of the part about 25 bucks .so anywho whats my point?oh yea ,doc holiday stay in hvac it seems like a good gig to me.

I started as a help desk tech then moved to level 3 server tech, which is one of the highest non management IT positions. I love working with servers and IT stuff, but I could not stand the political BS, and dealing with customer (one major customer in my case). I took a "lower end" job that is not that far from IT, and now I work in a NOC. It's more telephony than IT, but it's a bit of everything. I love it so far. Not what I'd call a major career change, but it was definitely a career change. I'm sure if I had stayed with that level 3 server tech position, gained more experience, I could have became a manager, but simply not what I wanted to do.

One thing I've learned is that sometimes what you like to do as a hobby may not be what you'd like to do as a job.

I think even brain surgeons get bored. Maybe what you seek in your life is not career related? Just a thought

funny you gave that analogy. I was er.... am a neuropharmacologist/drug abuse researcher.... sounds on the surface as an amazingly interesting career. bored as $#!t. I had to leave the stress, insanity, fiscal instability, and boredom of lab work. Became a prof and am happier because it's a more social job.

I think you hit the nail on the head. most careers become boring in the long run. And the grass is always greener....

I despise my co-workers, I view them as lesser human beings. I myself am better than that. I owe it to myself to be better, to stand for something admirable.

Back up a minute Doc..I hope you depise them because when they open their mouths garbage comes out and not because they are content to be Hvac guys.

I don't ever mean to put down your ambition and if you want to improve your lot in life then thats great, BUT you know there is something very admirable in a person getting up every morning to the same old grind of slinging tools, dirty hard work and long hours. The perseverance and tenacity required to do whatever it takes to keep the family fed is very respectable.

Back up a minute Doc..I hope you depise them because when they open their mouths garbage comes out and not because they are content to be Hvac guys.

I don't ever mean to put down your ambition and if you want to improve your lot in life then thats great, BUT you know there is something very admirable in a person getting up every morning to the same old grind of slinging tools, dirty hard work and long hours. The perseverance and tenacity required to do whatever it takes to keep the family fed is very respectable.

I truly hope you find what you are looking for

I interpreted that post to mean that his co-workers were not always honest when doing their work.... a criticism of their ethics.... not their career.